


The King's Masquerade

by pastandfuturequeen



Series: King Finn of the British Isles [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Balcony Scene, Dancing, Finn is Royalty, First Kiss, Fluff, Historical AU, I was aiming more towards Still Star Crossed in terms of style but it kinda works, M/M, Masquerade Ball, Royalty AU, Sort of Cinderella AU, i needed some fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-27
Updated: 2017-07-27
Packaged: 2018-12-07 15:14:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11626230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pastandfuturequeen/pseuds/pastandfuturequeen
Summary: Men and women hid behind masks of jewels and feathers, their breath sweet with wine and their skin zinging with the thrill of not knowing the identity of their dance partners. Finn wasn’t particularly fond of this sort of event, the air thick with desperation and power grabs.He kept mostly to the sidelines, his eyes raking the crowd. Finn needed someone nondescript enough who would not immediately recognize him or expect a courtship while also pleasant enough to appease the worries of his parents. All he needed was a single dance. That would be enough, Finn tried to convince himself. Hopefully.





	The King's Masquerade

The banquet hall was alight with laughter, gowns and robes glittering beneath the candlelight and bright smiles meant to enchant the nearest eligible spouse or political asset. Men and women hid behind masks of jewels and feathers, their breath sweet with wine and their skin zinging with the thrill of not knowing the identity of their dance partners. Finn wasn’t particularly fond of this sort of event, the air thick with desperation and power grabs.

“Our guests are starting to wonder whether the King has taken ill,” said the man beside him. He took a measured drink from his goblet as he spoke, though the corner of his mouth curved upwards as he looked at Finn. He set the goblet down on the tray of a passing waiter. “Should I wonder as well?”

Finn let out a sigh, carefully composing his face into a smile as he turned to him. “No, Father,” he said.

The royal ring upon his finger shimmered as he turned to face Finn, reflecting itself in his sparkling gaze. “I’ve noticed there’s plenty of eligible admirers tonight.” His son’s lips ticked downwards in a grimace, quickly recovered given his stern look. The King Father sighed. “I know you tire of this,”

“That I do,” Finn confirmed.

“You must select _someone,_ at least for your mother’s sake.” The King Father hummed, his words turning pensive. “If you are too tired to select an appropriate candidate, I suppose I could intervene myself-”

“- Please, Father - that won’t be necessary. I simply needed a quick rest.” Finn said in a panic, placing a hand on his father’s shoulder. He offered a respectful smile in an attempt to make up for his interruption. 

The King Father smirked at his son, having expected this sort of reaction. “Then why not spare a dance or two, hmm?” Even with greying hair and wrinkles hinting at his old age, the King Father still had the same mischievous look of his youth carefully tucked behind the wisdom of his face. It had gifted him with a lot of success as a ruler - and even more success with raising his son. 

Finn nodded reluctantly. He knew he couldn’t refuse now. The King Father made a second pleased hum and clapped his son firmly on the shoulder. “Go, be merry,” he said, gently guiding Finn towards the dancefloor.

“I always am,” Finn replied, beaming at him.

Finn approached the edge of the dancefloor and adjusted his mark, thankful for the small piece of anonymity the accessory granted. At least now, with the mask and without the unmistakeable crown atop his head he had some chance to avoid the opportunistic vultures who saw him only as a step to the royal family and riches. He kept mostly to the sidelines, his eyes raking the crowd. Finn needed someone nondescript enough who would not immediately recognize him or expect a courtship while also pleasant enough to appease the worries of his parents. All he needed was a single dance. That would be enough, Finn tried to convince himself. Hopefully.

During his second walk around the room he managed to spot the Skywalker family - unfortunately accompanied by the younger Skywalker. The dark mask was unmistakeable on its brooding owner. Finn quickly turned the other direction, almost crashing into another man who had stood only a handful of paces away.

“My apologies,” Finn tried to say.

The other man smiled and shook his head. “My apologies, really,” he said. His brows pinched as he looked over Finn’s shoulder. “I think there’s an unpleasant sight headed our way.” Finn’s eyes widened in panic. The other man extended his hand and looked pointedly at the dance floor. “This is a rescue, I’m helping you escape.”

Finn’s brows lifted in disbelief, though a smile started to creep up the corner of his mouth. “Do you know the dance to this song?”

The other man beamed. “I can dance to anything.”

Finn took the other man’s hand. The man quickly led them to the dancefloor, himself taking the lead while Finn followed. His movements were precise and practiced, meant to move them as far away from the Skywalker son as possible. Other dancers flowed and twirled around them, the other man easily maneuvering them through the moving couples. At last, Finn saw the ugly mask disappear amongst the crowd. Finn let out a sigh of relief. 

“What’s your name?” The man spoke quietly, careful to keep their conversation private between the other dancers. Finn almost didn’t catch it.

“Finn. My name’s Finn,” he replied, looking at the man. “What’s yours?”

“I’m Poe. Poe Dameron,” Poe replied, smiling at Finn.

Finn felt himself start to warm under the other man’s gaze. Poe’s eyes were kind behind the mask, a warm chestnut brown. “Nice to meet you, Poe.”

“Nice to meet you too, Finn.”

They danced for the rest of the song, their bodies flowing together and reacting easily to the other’s movements. At the end of the song, the two parted, turning to clap a gentle applause to the musicians with the rest of the dancers. Finn’s eyes met Poe’s again, and this time Finn extended his hand. Poe took it with a brilliant smile. One dance turned into two, and two into three, and then countless more until at last Finn felt his feet begin to tire. They wandered away from the dancefloor then, Poe extending his arm for Finn to grab hold of as they maneuvered through the crowd.

The edge of the dance floor was crowded with other resting couples and gossiping nobles. Finn spotted from their current spot that the balcony nearby was not in a much better state, with plenty of noblewomen fanning themselves to ward off the heat. Finn hummed in the back of his throat. He really wasn’t fond of so many people in his estate, particularly when he knew how horrid the nobility could be in terms of treating his staff. The fact that at least half of the noblewomen were of marrying age was certainly no coincidence.

“There’s not a lot of privacy, isn’t there,” Poe commented, his voice muffled. Finn turned around and saw Poe was chewing on the remnants of a macaron he had retrieved from a passing waiter. The other man held another one out to Finn, brows raised. It was an innocent statement, with no particular heat or suggestion behind it, particularly when coupled with the crumbs of macaron that lingered on Poe’s chin. Finn took the offered macaron and happily bit into it, hiding his smile. 

He gently tugged at Poes arm, nodding his head in a different direction with a brilliant smile. “Follow me.” Finn led them away from the banquet hall and towards another part of the estate, away from prying eyes. He led them to a balcony overlooking the rose garden, backlight by the light of the moon and the stars. Once they were away Finn let out a sigh of relief, taking in lungfuls of the cool night air.

Finn heard a noise from behind him and turned around curiously. Poe reached behind his head and untied the ribbon holding his mask in place. When Poe emerged, he held the mask away from him and breathed in deeply just as Finn had done, head tilted back. After a moment, he turned to look at Finn with a lopsided smile. “I hope you don’t mind,” he said, a hand reaching back to rub the back of his neck. “It was getting a bit hot beneath the mask after dancing for so long.”

Finn discreetly swallowed at the sight of the other man. Poe’s rumpled hair should not be allowed to be that attractive. His eyes should not be allowed to shine that brightly under the moonlight. For a moment, the King debated whether it should be a royal decree. He could do it, if he wanted to. “It’s alright,” he said, clearing his throat. “Truth be told, I generally don’t like to dance for long either.”

Poe’s lips turned down in a frown. “Oh, I’m sorry. Why not say something earlier?”

Finn’s lips curled upwards in a slow smile. “I make exceptions when the company is pleasant.”

Poe beamed at him. Finn felt his face warm and looked away briefly to compose himself. The other man came to stand beside him to lean against the balcony railing. He looked up at Finn, his expression that of admiration. “You’re gorgeous, has anyone told you that?”

It was a quiet statement, genuine in its simplicity, and spoken as easily as a thought that had just occurred to him and needed to be voiced. Different from the carefully crafted compliments Finn received simply for his status. Finn’s gaze went down to the other man’s mouth, flitting back up to meet Poe’s knowing gaze. The two stood stock still, a million words passing between them without a single one escaping their lips. Poe’s gaze flitted across Finn’s face, curiously gazing across what might be behind the mask that covered half his face - from his eyes to his mouth and back. “So who talks first?” he said, voice soft. “You talk first, I talk first?”

A laugh escaped Finn, disbelieving. “You speak a lot when you’re nervous, has anyone told you that?”

“Are you offering a solution?” Poe teased, his voice light as he stood up from his lean against the railing.

Finn beamed at him, his smile easy. “Maybe.”

It happened quickly then, just a simple press of their lips together. Finn wasn’t sure who had been the one to lean in first, and at that point it didn’t quite matter. Poe let out a soft sigh, hand resting at Finn’s elbow as they leaned together again. Their lips met, sliding together easily and both tasting of sweet macaron. Finn’s hands rested on Poe’s waist, drawing them slightly closer. Poe’s hands crept up to cup Finn’s face, his fingers catching on the edge of the mask. The other man broke the kiss, his finger tracing the edge of Finn’s mask. “Is it okay to take this off?” he asked.

Finn nodded once, just a small movement of his head. “Yes.”

Poe’s hands went up behind Finn’s head, untying the soft ribbon and taking off the mask with care as he gazed upon Finn’s face. After a moment Poe’s eyes grew comically wide, realization dawning on him. “Wait, you’re the King?”

Finn nodded again, feeling somewhat proud at the fact that the shock from the other man was as genuine as the rest of him.

Poe ran a hand through his hair, shutting his eyes with a groan. “Did I really - I really shoved a macaron in my mouth in front of the King. I called my King _gorgeous._ I - ”

“I see no reason for me to complain,” Finn said simply.

The other man opened his eyes a crack, gazing at Finn curiously. A blush still lingered on his cheeks. “No?”

“No.”

“Oh.” Poe licked his lips. “Well.”

“Well,” Finn echoed.

“Then my kissing you -”

“Is very much appreciated, yes.” Finn confirmed. He tilted his head to the side, aware now of the renewed tension between their connected bodies as he rubbed a small circle with his thumb onto Poe’s side.

Poe bit his lip. “May I kiss you again?”

“Yes.”

**Author's Note:**

> So you’ve probably noticed that everyone’s talking fancy in this fic - and well I was watching Still Star Crossed and was in a Mood. Especially because _I’m still really bitter over the fact that it’s been cancelled_ but anyways. If you happen to watch the show please talk to me nobody I know irl knows about it and I have so many feelings. 
> 
> This is very lightly linked to another fic I did for Finn Week 2017 called [Long Live the King](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11595336) if you wanna check that out as well. In that fic Finn gets some interaction with his mom the Queen Mother, so I figured it’d be nice to balance it out here with some interaction here with his dad the King Father. I think that’s what it’s called? I mean I dunno much about royal protocol and I’m not a historian but from what I remember from past history classes Kings didn’t usually abdicate the throne and just waited until they died for the next in line to take over? So I dunno if there even is a title for it. But we’re not killing off the King Father in this fic because I’m not Disney so I refuse to give Finn a dead parent. I just have a thing for Finn being treated right because he deserves so much okay?
> 
> I have a [tumblr](https://pastandfuturequeen.tumblr.com/) if you wanna check that out - and as always, thanks for reading, and feel free to leave kudos, comments, and criticism below!


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